IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — It wasn’t an overstatement, Fran McCaffery said.

Asked about junior center Luka Garza, McCaffery, Iowa’s basketball coach said, “He’s one of the hardest working guys I’ve ever been around. That’s no exaggeration. He never takes a possession off at either end.”

Garza showed that work ethic on Friday night, opening the season with a double-double and Iowa pulled away in the second half for an 87-60 win over SIU-Edwardsville.

Garza, Iowa’s leading returning scorer from a team that reached the second round of the NCAA tournament last season, had 20 points and 12 rebounds as the Hawkeyes won their season opener.

It was the sixth double-double of Garza’s career.

“I think we just really followed the game plan,” said Garza, who had 14 points and seven rebounds in the first half. “We really wanted to get the ball inside. I was just able to be put into great positions by my teammates who tried to get me the ball. And when they put me into those positions, I’m going to try to find a way to score.”

Garza took over inside where forward Tyler Cook, Iowa’s leading scorer last season before leaving for a professional career, left off.

“I just worked a lot over the summer, tried to get stronger,” Garza said. “Now that I moved into TC’s position at the ‘5’, I’m more of a true center, for sure.”

Joe Wieskamp had 16 points for the Hawkeyes.

Iowa struggled early, with SIUE getting to within 26-22 late in the first half. But the Hawkeyes went on a 12-4 run, started by a 3-pointer from senior guard Jordan Bohannon, to close the half then opened the second half with a 17-8 run over the first six minutes.

Kenyon Duling and Cam Williams each had 10 points for SIUE (1-1).

UP NEXT

Iowa gets its first conference-challenge game of the season when the Hawkeyes host DePaul in the Gavitt Games (Big Ten vs. Big East) on Monday.

SIUE plays at home against Valparaiso on Tuesday.